Patti's Blog - Advocate for Elders, People with Disabilities and Their Families

Sebelius At Georgetown Calls For 'Conversation and Compromise'

Excerpt from Kaiser Health News: (click for entire article)

Reuters/Chicago Tribune: Health Secretary Urges Contraception Compromise
U.S. Health Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, in a speech at Georgetown University a few miles from the White House, praised the new U.S. healthcare law requiring coverage and called for "conversation and compromise." ... About 20 protesters lined a campus entrance amid beefed up security, and a heckler, who interrupted Sebelius by calling her a "baby killer," was led away by campus police (Heavey, 5/18).

The Hill: Sebelius Stays Away From Contraception Fight At Georgetown
Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius didn't mention the controversy over the administration's contraception mandate during a Friday commencement speech at Georgetown University. ... Sebelius noted in her speech that public policy debates can be contentious and the conversations over difficult issues "can be painful." "But this is a strength of our country, not a weakness," said Sebelius. "In some countries around the world, it is much easier to make policy," she said. "The leader delivers an edict and it goes into effect. There’s no debate, no press, no criticism, no second guessing" (Viebeck, 5/18).

Girls Write Now Has Extended the Mentee and Mentor Application Deadlines to June 15, 2012

Excerpt from Girls Write Now: (click for entire article)

Do you know a TEEN GIRL who's PASSION is WRITING? Encourage her to be a MENTEE at GIRLS WRITE NOW today!

GIRLS WRITE NOW is also seeking PASSIONATE WRITERS, TEACHERS & LEADERS who want to SHARE THEIR CRAFT with an ASPIRING TEEN WRITER.

SPREAD THE WORD with this short video to get a taste of who we are and what we do. 

Yale Law School Battles Gender Imbalance

Excerpt from TaxProf Blog: (click for entire article)

Yale Daily News, Law School Battles Gender Imbalance:

    Men are 16% more likely to speak in class than women in Yale Law School courses, according findings in a study released by a Law School student group last week.

    The group, Yale Law Women, replicated a study of gender dynamics it conducted at the school in 2002. The 93-page study — which included interviews with 54 of 83 non-visiting faculty members, observations of student participation in 113 sessions of 21 Law School courses and a survey of 62 percent of the student body — found that women are 1.5% more likely to speak up in class now than they were 10 years ago, among several other observations. The majority of students and faculty interviewed by the News said gender imbalances are an endemic problem in the legal profession and are not unique to the Law School, though many were disappointed by the lack of substantial improvement over the decade.

What is beauty?

Excerpt from Voices from Eurasia: (click for entire article)

One of the worst parts of my student years was studying photographs of people living with disabilities as one of the methods for their evaluation during medical classes.

The lecturer was showing us all sorts of ‘deviations’ from a ‘normal human appearance,’ and we were taught it was all evidence of mental or physical disease.

It felt like the people in the pictures were from a parallel world. Sometimes you could notice their gender, but never any personal features that could evoke sympathy.

“Where do they even find these pictures?” I thought to myself.

Administration releases Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on preventive services policy

Excerpt from HHS.gov: (click for entire article)

Officials at the Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS), Labor, and the Treasury today took the next step in the Obama administration’s effort to ensure women access to recommended preventive services while respecting religious liberty.  The Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking issued today outlines draft proposals to implement the policy announced by President Barack Obama and HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius on Feb. 10, 2012. This policy will provide women with access to recommended preventive services including contraceptives without cost sharing, while ensuring that non-profit religious organizations are not forced to pay for, provide, or facilitate the provision of any contraceptive service they object to on religious grounds.  The Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking issued today gives all Americans the chance to formally comment on ideas for implementing this policy.

Administration officials also released a final rule governing student health plans.  Under the final rule, students will gain the same consumer protections other people with individual market insurance have, like a prohibition on lifetime limits and coverage of preventive services without cost sharing.  In the same way that religious colleges and universities will not have to pay, arrange or refer for contraceptive coverage for their employees, they will not have to do so for their students who will get such coverage directly and separately from their insurer.

5 Ways Health Reform Helps Women

Excerpt from NHelp: (click for entire article)

ALREADY IN PLACE: Medicaid state option to expand family planning
The ACA created a new Family Planning State Option to allow states to expand access to family planning for individuals who do not qualify for Medicaid but need family planning services. Previously, states could only enroll these individuals in Medicaid family planning programs that are temporary and permitted to limit services and enrollment. This new option allows states to incorporate this limited-scope coverage into their state Medicaid programs, creating an entitlement for all those who qualify.

ALREADY IN PLACE: Coverage of preventive care without cost-sharing
The ACA requires all new insurance plans to cover certain preventive health benefits without cost-sharing. This is particularly significant for women, who have important preventive health needs, lower incomes, and are more likely to forgo preventive care due to cost. Beginning in August 2012, this coverage requirement will expand to include additional women's preventive health services, including contraception.

Announcing the 5th National Conference on Behavioral Health for Women and Girls

Excerpt from SAMHSA: (click for entire article)

SAMHSA, in partnership with Mental Health Systems, Inc., is pleased to host the 5th National Conference on Behavioral Health for Women and Girls: Health, Empowerment, Resilience, and Recovery.

This 2½-day conference will bring together a diverse audience with an interest in prevention, mental health, and addiction services for women and girls. Join with leaders, colleagues, and stakeholders as we create a 2½-day conference community to discuss the current research, innovations, and trends serving women, girls, and their families.

How Pinterest’s Female Audience Is Changing Social Marketing

Excerpt from Mashable: (click for entire article)

As the new kid in town, Pinterest is poised to make some major waves in the social media scene. Facebook, Twitter and Google+, watch your backs.

Launched in 2010, the site grew from 1.6 million visitors in September 2011 to a whopping 11.1 million visitors in February 2012.

A cursory examination of Pinterest site statistics reveals some interesting demographic information: Women are engaging on the social site with much more veracity than men. Currently, women make up about 82% of active users on Pinterest, according to Google Ad Planner.

As a general trend, women engage more on most social sites, including on Facebook and Twitter. Comscore says women are the majority of social networking users, and spend 30% more time on sites than men. Plus, mobile social network usage is 55% female, according to Nielsen.

If You Have These Symptoms, You May Be Having A Heart Attack

Excerpt from The Consumerist: (click for entire article)

Some people who suffer heart attacks — especially young women — don't realize what's happening because they think they're safe from the deadly ailment and the symptoms aren't what they expected. According to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, some women tend not to recognize heart attacks because they weren't accompanied by chest pain.

Fitsugar takes note of the study, reported by CBS News, among many other outlets, and suggests looking out for symptoms that could be signs of heart attacks.

Five myths about Planned Parenthood

Excerpt from The Washington Post: (click for entire article)

I was a Planned Parenthood affiliate chief executive, supervising a network of clinics in New York state, during the early days of this terrible recession. We ran deficits, cut hours, closed centers and laid off staff members. In a recession, things get very difficult — more and more people are in need, while government funds lag and donations dwindle. But still we did not turn patients away, even if they could not pay. At the same time, we had to fight political battles to preserve women’s rights to basic care and information about their sexual health. Those battles continue: Thursday, the House voted to defund Planned Parenthood permanently; the Senate opposed that measure. Amid the debate, let’s address some of the misperceptions about this nearly 100-year-old health-care organization.